minutes with a local news update. >> i "today" show is next. good morning. greatness personified! >> phelps to the wall and gets it done! >> michael phelps does it again, adding a 17th gold medal to his unprecedented olympic record, as two young american women, 17-year-old missy franklin and 15-year-old katie ledecky set records and strike gold as well. >> ledecky is a gold medalist with a new american record! >> now all eyes will be back on phelps as he goes for yet another gold in his final olympic swim today, saturday, august 14th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television ♪ good morning, and welcome to "today" and london's olympic park on this saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and good morning. i'm tamron hall. this is, by the way, being called super saturday here in london, with 25 gold medals up for grabs in 11 different sports, and we are counting. i've got my list. >> we are counting. people keep saying, we've done this, we've done this. well, you and i haven't done anything. >> i was pumping iron. that's how i started my day. >> i haven't own any medal here. swimming wraps up tonight. the aquatics centre was the place to be last night. the duke and duchess of

cambridge as well as the u.s. men's basketball team on hand and michael phelps in the race. we'll talk to three americans who walked away with medals, danging right there around their necks, including 15-year-old sensation katie ledecky. >> all smiles this morning. also ahead, you mentioned the royals, lester. they've been having a grand time at these games. coming up, we'll hear from princes william and harry about their olympic experience so far, including, of course, the queen's grand entrance at the opening ceremony. >> people still talking about that. then, the two of us will face off in olympic -- okay, i'm going to say this the right way -- >> what is it? >> it's badminton. >> no, it's not, it's badminton. >> look at the way they're spelling it. >> but we're told that in the uk, royals likeliester say badminton, but regular country people like me say badminton. >> well, here's the deal, we can't agree on the pronunciation. do you know how to play it? >> i've never played it. i've seen it on television. >> it's different than the backyard version. >> okay, but we've got olympians with us. >> i'm going to say it the right

way, badminton. anyway, then, a group that should be awarded gold medals, the drivers of london's famed black taxis. have you taken one here? >> one. >> come up with any obscure address, they know where to go. >> wow. >> unbelievable what they have to go through, four years of training before getting behind the wheel. they even have to learn the routes on bicycles. >> really? >> yeah, it's quite a profession, so we'll get caught up with them. first, let's catch you up up on the olympic action, including another record-setting night in the pool for team usa. >> boy, he's got a lot of room to make up! >> it was his last individual olympic race ever, and michael phelps finished like he has so many times before. >> and here comes phelps to the wall! and gets it done! >> a thrilling come-from-behind win in the 100-meter butterfly, beating south african chad le clos, who barely edged him out for gold in the 200-meter earlier this week. >> even le clos has to give it up to the best of all time.

>> the most decorated olympian ever. >> it's got to be a world record for missy franklin. >> 17-year-old missy franklin set a new world record in the 200-meter backstroke, en route to her third gold in london. fellow american elizabeth beisel took the bronze. >> this has been the most incredible week and i have never been happier. >> and how about 15-year-old katie ledecky in her first ever olympic final? >> but ledecky is a gold medalist! >> gold in the 800-meter freestyle, just missing a new world record. >> the future of usa swimming. have we seen it tonight? >> trying to fight off -- >> and in the 50-meter freestyle, swimming's all-out sprint, american cullen jones took silver. at olympic stadium, track and field events opened with the sounds of shot put. where american reese hoffa claimed bronze. on the track, the battle to become the world's fastest woman

began as american sprinter carmelita jenner posted the evening's best team in the 100-meter heats. >> this looked like someone who is ready to claim her first olympic medal. >> in tennis, the gold medal matches are set. >> serena williams will play for gold. >> it will be serena williams going for her first olympic singles medal against maria sharapova. while on the men's side, a wimbledon final rematch, roger federer came back to win in a match that lasted 4 1/2 hours. tomorrow, he'll face andy murray and all his british fans. >> looks like to the back post. is it the opening goal? the flag stays down. abby wambach scores again. >> and on the soccer pitch, abby wambach's fourth goal of these olympics sent the american women cartwheeling into next week's semifinals. there was also a big upset in men's beach volleyball. americans tom rogers and phil dalhausser, the defending gold medalists knocked out by an

italian team. now checking the medal count, team usa leads with 43, including 21 golds. china with 42. and russia is now in third with 23. >> and with us now, three swimmers who added to the u.s. total last night, 15-year-old katie ledecky, the youngest u.s. olympian, won gold and set a new american record in the 800-meter free. also, cullen jones who pulled in the silver and elizabeth beisel won a bronze in the 200-meter backstroke. you've won so much, i have to reed raed it off script. congratulations, guys. >> my first question i came out to katie, where's your medal? and what was your answer? >> left it inside. i don't want to lose it. >> that's what happens when you're a 15-year-old at the olympics, right? >> exactly, you can't keep up with your own medals! >> congratulations, katie it was amazing. >> thank you. >> the brits were rooting on rebecca addington. she was nipping at your heels as you were going by. the announcers seemed blown away by your performance. how'd you feel? >> yeah, i guess it was a little

unexpected how it played out, but the crowd was great for rebecca adlington and i took it and put it in my own race. >> and cullen, you were two-fifths of a second behind, but you talk about your mom. >> i do. >> and she gave you some advice. what did mom say? >> that if you're really going to do this olympics this year, you're going to do it right, so get your butt in the pool. so, yeah. >> good advice. go home, work hard. >> at least she let you keep your medal. >> yes. >> sorry, katie. >> it's still early. >> and elizabeth, you competed in the 200-meter backstroke. you had a real come-from-behind there, didn't you? >> yeah. i was fourth at the 150 turn, so my last 50 got me third place, which i'm really excited about. >> did you have a sense where the others were when you were trying to make that move? >> yeah, i knew exactly where i was. missy was way far ahead, but i knew it was going to be -- >> i loved the two of you afterwards. one minute you're competing, the next you're like sisters. >> oh, yeah, absolutely. after the race i looked at her

and said do you know how fast you just went? she had an incredible swim and it's awesome we both got on the podium. >> who slept last night? did anybody get any sleep? you're 15. i hope you were in bed right after. >> about two hours. >> two hours. >> have you gotten any sleep or is it so surreal? >> surreal. >> any of you have a chance to sit and watch the replay of your races in total? >> not yet, no. >> no. >> are you serious? >> yeah. >> aren't you just dying to, like, sit and watch it, or you don't want to go through it again? >> i'd like to watch it. >> you've got plenty of time to watch it over and over. >> exactly. >> cullen, i want to bring up make a splash, your program. you're the spokesperson, an instructor. you've been teaching children to swim. 70% of african-american children have little to low swimming backgrounds. >> right. >> and you're teaching me to swim. i think we have video of cullen with me. i have this immense fear of being imerged in water, and you said after the games, we have a bet. i will take you for a hot fudge anything bad, and tiy, because

you will teach me to swim? >> yeah. >> we're still on? >> we're still on. >> high five. congratulations. >> thanks. >> you gave it a shot, though? >> if that's what you want to call it. if being submerged is a shot, i gave it a shot. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> congratulations, katie ledecky, cullen jones, elizabeth beisel. >> and they're going to stick around to play badminton. >> do you know how to pronounce it? >> is it badminton or badminton? >> badminton. >> i say badminton. >> all right. badminton it is. that's coming up. let's get a check of the morning's other top stories now. tom llamas is back in new york with those. tom? good morning, lester and tamron, and good morning, everyone. four big wildfires are burning in oklahoma. they've destroyed dozens of homes, forced hundreds of evacuations and closed some major roads. the main road between oklahoma city and tulsa has reopened. the winds that have been driving the flames are expected to die down today, but temperatures in the triple digits aren't helping crews still struggling to contain the fires. in syria, rebels appear to be gearing up for an offensive

in damascus, just two weeks after the government crushed a rebel run on the capital. there is great concern that the assad regime is preparing to unleash a massive assault on rebels fighting in aleppo. people there say they don't understand why the international community isn't trying to stop what they fear could be a huge massacre. back here in the states, the family of the late joe paterno says they plan to appeal the sanctions imposed by the ncaa against penn state for the jerry sandusky child sexual abuse scandal. the landmark penalties include vacating 111 wins, meaning paterno no longer has the most coaching victories in major college football. his family says the ncaa acted without regard for due process, but the ncaa says the sanctions aren't subject to appeal. janet jackson isn't backing down. a lawyer for the singer said late friday that she'll continue to fight the executors of michael jackson's will. it gives only family matriarch katherine jackson and michael's three children a stake in the

lucrative estate. janet and siblings randy and rebbie jackson insist they're not motivated by money. instead, they say they're challenging the will because they believe it's a fake. president obama celebrates his 51st birthday today at camp david. the weekend will be a quiet one for the first family, but next week they'll hold birthday-themed fund-raisers from north carolina to california. meanwhile, mitt romney will spend the day campaigning in indiana. clint eastwood made romney's day friday. the actor endorsed the republican presidential hopeful at a fund-raiser in sun valley, idaho. eastwood says he thinks the country needs a boost. now let's get a check of today's weather. tropical storm ernesto with top sustained winds of 60 miles per hour is about 300 miles south-southwest of jamaica. the storm is moving

and a good saturday morning. i'm storm 4 meteorologist xhuk bell. off to a muggy start. 79 degrees at international airport. 81 in annapolis. 70 degrees in martinsburg, west virginia. a mix of clouds and sunshine. very hot and humid. highs in the mid to upper 90s for a brief time this afternoon. and be on the lookout for chances of thunderstorms around for this afternoon and for that's the news. now back to lester in london. >> all right, tom, thanks very much. as we mentioned, michael phelps competes in what's likely his final olympic event tonight, the 4x100-meter medley relay, this after the greatest olympian of all time took gold in the 100-meter butterfly last night. his remarkable career stands now

at 21 medals, 17 of them gold. rowdy gaines is an nbc olympic swimming analyst. rowdy, good morning. i'm surprised you have a voice. >> it's been an amazing week. >> what a week! did you see this coming? >> you know, i felt like the team was going to have a good meet, lester. we went to the training camp a couple weeks ago in france, and everybody looked loose and relaxed, and i thought it was going to be an astounding meet for them, but this amazing? i just, i don't think so. >> and i just read off the medals for michael phelps. put that in perspective, please. >> well, here's -- this is a funny thing, because i won three in 1984 and i thought i was pretty cool, right? >> yeah. >> if he wins tonight, he'll win 18, which is six times as many as i won. it's just -- the numbers are mind-boggling. 18 gold medals he could walk away with. >> and the americans are favored tonight. >> oh, yeah. the thing about this relay, too, you've got three gold medals in the individual 100s, adrian anchoring, phelps, grevers leading off and hanson gets the

bronze in the 100 breaststroke. it's going to be almost unbelievable. >> do you think phelps could really walk away after this? >> you know, that's the big question everybody's been asking me the last couple days. i hope he doesn't, just for the sport of swimming and for the olympic movement alone, lester. but i think he's going to take a couple years to reflect on this. he says he's done, but i have a feeling he's going to come back. >> you know, the taste of victory's a pretty sweet taste. >> that competitor never goes away, and he's still young, only 27. he'd be 31 in reno. >> we've been watching the success, you say the american swimmers have been loose. just talking to katie ledecky a moment ago, what a performance she put on. >> i couldn't -- >> you guys got off to a pretty poor start. >> well, it was incredible. her first 400 was faster than her individual 400 in history. she was half a second faster than she's ever been in that. and to do it in this dramatic fashion, where you know, the greatest, perhaps the greatest name in britain of performances here in rebecca adlington and to

do this here on her stomping ground and to have the prince and princess in the stand it was mind-boggling. >> assuming we're about to go into a post-phelps era, who should we be looking at among the women swimmers? >> katie ledecky, elizabeth beisel's only 19, and perhaps the biggest name of all is missy franklin. >> there's going to be continue to be great depth on the u.s. swimming team looking forward to reno. >> the women's team is set up very nicely moving forward. the men's team has work to do, but grevers and lochte coming back. >> rowdy gaines, great to have you on. thank you so much. you can catch all the olympic action throughout the day on the networks of nbc and what could be the last swim of michael phelps's historic career. that's tonight 8:00/7:00 central time right here on nbc. up next, princes william and harry open backup their olympic experience and what they knew about the queen's stunt during the opening ceremony. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back to london's olympic park. princes william and harry are certainly enjoying their olympic experience, checking out events on a daily basis while cheering on team gb. nbc's michelle kosinski has more on that. michelle, good morning! good to see you. >> hi, tamron. during the opening ceremony, that bit with the queen, well, people around the world were intrigued as to how that came to be. turns out, it was one of the best-kept secrets. princes william and harry told the bbc last night that even they had no idea their grandmother, the queen, would play this unprecedented role, kicking off what's been a thrilling olympics for them as well. no one can quite get over that moment. >> good evening. >> yes, the queen in an opening ceremony guest, stunning the world and her grandsons.

>> well, to be honest, we were kept completely in the dark about it. that's how big a secret it was. harry got a look at the rerun tonight. but the fact that she did such a good performance that she's being asked to star in the next bond film, i'm ecstatic. >> the princes joked in another interview with canadian tv. >> harry and i were flying helicopters. >> we thought it was hysterical. >> harry called the queen a good sport for doing something more his style, here cheating in a race with fastest man on earth usain bolt. the princes and kate love sports and have been a part of the olympics for months, involved with charities, encouraging sports for children. they greeted the torch. harry says we're told not to touch it in case anything went wrong. and at the games, they have not held back their excitement, doing the wave at tennis. >> they also did the kiss cam as well, and i was absolutely dreading they were going to show myself and my wife, and it would have been very embarrassing.

>> though hugging to see british cyclists shatter a record and take gold. they cheered their cousin, equestrian zara phillips, on to a silver medal. >> emotionally, i got completely carried away in the moment, and i got goose bumps on the back of my neck and i got quite carried away. >> the electrifying games, the crowds, the unbelievable feat of sports have also gripped the royal family, from the queen down. the princes say they hope this olympics draws attention to all kinds of sports, not just the high-profile ones, and inspires children everywhere to put down the video games for a little while and learn to play something. >> absolutely. i think everybody agrees on that. but i'm curious what they would have done if the kiss cam had turned on them. would they have gone for it? >> i think they would have had to. >> okay, michelle. good to see you. thank you very much. >> you, too. still ahead, the names to

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still ahead, lester learns what it takes to drive a london cab. >> and badminton on the plaza after your local news. release me, momigus! that's mom to you. and you should eat something that's good for you before you go outside. never! come on james. it's a new fiber one chewy bar. chocolatey and delicious. fiber one chewy bar, huh?

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taking a live look outside. you can see a little hazy out there. and some people may actually notice, we got a little wet overnight. find out if there is more rain even the way in a moment. 7:27 on saturday, august 4th. i'm richard jordan. residents in one d.c. neighborhood will try to get answers about what d.c. water is doing to keep homes from flooding. the bloomingdale civic association will hold a meeting with the utility association this afternoon. residents are angry that their homes flood repeatedly. it will take more than a decade to complete improvements. the utility says it has taken

short-term steps to reduce flooding. we'll check the weekend forecast next. stay with us.

good saturday morning, everyone. i'm storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. off to a steamy start on your saturday. temperatures already in the middle up ander 70s to near 80 degrees along the chesapeake bay the forecast, a mix of clouds and hazy sunshine. plenty of heat and humidity too. chance of showers and thunderstorms by later on this afternoon. one or two could be strong. and we're looking for a greater risk for severe weather anyway,

coming up on sunday. temperatures in the mid 90s, both today and tomorrow. richard, stay cool. >> chuck, thanks. a full hour of news coming up at 8:00. ♪ welcome back on this saturday morning, august 4th, 2012, day eight of the games of the xxx olympiad as we check out the view from above, courtesy of our friends at goodyear. olympic park packed once again. some of our friends have joined us on our plaza. glad to have you all here. lots of red, white and blue. of course, they could be british, too. >> well, we know what it is. >> stars and stripes, red, white and blue. anyway, hey, coming up this half hour, we're going to play a little badminton. last time we worked together on the plaza, remember, we played a little tetherball. >> you lost. >> well, that's not the way i recall it, but anyway, we're going to play another sport. >> what? you're trying to take me out already! they're intimidated, olympians intimidated by me.

>> somebody gave me the birdie. >> a bird in the hand. >> something tells me we'll be -- anyway, that's coming up. what else is coming up? >> also today, track and field heating up. american reese hoffa won bronze in the shot put last night. today the sprinters take center stage, highlighted by usain bolt's first event and the finals of the women's 100-meter dash. we will preview all of that red-hot action. >> then we're going to talk about getting around london. they have a great subway system, but the iconic black cabs are so cool and are so roomy, and it's not easy driving them because the streets here meander around. >> yeah, they do. >> and they go through a heck of a lot of training, i'm talking years of training before they get behind the wheel. i spent time with them to find out how you qualify to become a london taxi. >> by spending time, you mean you drove a taxi? >> no, i rode in the back of a taxi. >> also a reminder, monday, missy franklin on the "today" show with savannah and matt. some music and more olympians on monday, but meantime, let's send it back to new york and check in

with nbc's tom llamas for the day's other headlines. tom? tamron, thank you. the intense heat wave is easing, but expect mid-90s from the 100s to indiana, southwest into texas. the pacific northwest will see possible record highs with temperatures reaching into the 90s in portland, oregon, and good morning, everybody. temperatures in the middle and upper 70s to near 8 0 degrees already. a hot day in the washington area. temperatures in the mid 90s with heat index values 100 degrees or higher for at least a couple of hours this afternoon. and extended forecast calls for the high heat to last through today and tomorrow. some thunderstorms tomorrow could be strong to severe. keep a weather eye to the sky. a little cooler. that's your weather. now let's go back to tamron in london. >> all right, tom, thank you very much. swimming dominated the headlines during the first week

of these games. well, now the spotlight is turning to olympic stadium and track and field. usain bolt begins his quest to remain the fastest man on earth in the 100-meter race. today he'll face stiff competition from his jamaican teammate, johan blake, and two americans, tyson gay and justin gatlin and the fastest man in the world will be crowned. allen is nbcolympics.com. good morning. >> good morning. >> let's jump into the action because that's what sprinters do, get in there. usain bolt, johan blake, it's a showdown. many people have said usain is the underdog. is that the wrong wording there? >> i think underdog is totally, totally the wrong word. that's until usain bolt loses, he is capital "t" the capital "m" man in the race. he's redefined what it is to be a human being. running 9:69 and 9:58, he's the

guy. >> but he lost earlier in the summer in the trials. >> he has lost, he's been hurt, a little sketchy. we don't know quite what's wrong, but he is still the king of the sprint. >> let's talk about the americans, tyson gay and justin gatlin. i read an interview with tyson gay, who basically said it's time to redeem himself. >> moments ago, he ran 10:08 in his heat. i think that's a good start for him. tyson gay is the best american sprinter so far. >> will this live up to the hype? will it be the most exciting ten seconds that we've seen? >> yeah. the 100-meter dash is always the marquee event of any olympics. the 100-meter dash is the heavyweight fight of the olympic games. >> all right. this is the big one. let's switch to the women's 100-meter. another head-to-head matchup, 2008 gold medalist shell ay-ann frazier-price versus carmelita jeter. >> i think shelly-ann fraser-praise price has it, but you can never count carmelita out. she looked incredible in her heat, absolutely fantastic.

>> and carmelita jeter has a lot of excitement, with her, her performance, just watching her, to your point. we cannot bet against this woman. >> no, no. you can never, ever count carmelita out. however, i mean, shelly-ann looked absolutely like a machine. she's back from injury, and the money has to be on shelly-ann. >> and let's talk a little bit about oscar pistorius. >> oscar ran a great heat, a major, major victory, one that oscar's here, two that he qualified for the semifinals. that is oscar's big win. he's not going to win the 400. he's probably not going to make the finals. for him to make the semis is great. >> but again, to see him on the track, what do you think this means beyond the olympics? >> what oscar has shown is that you can triumph, no matter who you are, what you are, where you've come from, what you do. all that matters is what's in

your head, the strength of of your imagination and your possibilities. >> quick, the men's 100-meter hurdles. this is a big event, another one not to be missed? >> yes. you've got the 2004 olympic champion, lu xang, jason richardson, the 2012 indoor champion aries merrett, bring it on. >> from swimming to traffic, we've got it all. thank you, allen. >> my pleasure. >> much more to come from london, including the most feared siblings at these games. we'll catch up with america's first family of tai kwon do, right after this. [ music plays ]

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♪ welcome back. america's first family of tae kwon do already has its place in olympic history. now the lopez siblings from suing yearlaga sugarland, texas, hope to add to their olympic hardware and put the sport of tae kwon do back on the map in a big way. ♪ kicking and screaming is a way of life for this clan. and come next week, they could be the most feared family in london. the lopez siblings put tae kwon do on the olympic map. >> tae kwon do and martial arts originates in korea. it made its debut in 2000 in the sydney games, where we won the

americans' first gold medal. >> coached by his oldest brother jean, steven lopez went on to make history again eight years later in beijing, along with his younger brother, mark, and sister, diana. all three medaled in the 2008 olympics, marking the first time since 1904 three siblings competed in the same games. now the lopezes are hoping to continue their dominance in london. steven, you have a chance here to become the most decorated tae kwon do athlete. >> yeah. i've won two olympic gold medals, a bronze medal, and i'm going for the gold this time around. >> with jean as team usa's coach, steven will be competing in his fourth olympics, diana will be competing in her second games and knows her big brothers always have her back. >> i go to them and they always make me feel so comfortable, get me so prepared to go into the ring and face anyone. >> how did they feel when you decided you wanted to get into

this sport? >> at the beginning, they were like, diana, are you sure you want to do this? why don't you try volleyball? i did try that, i tried basketball, i tried track and field. >> we were cautious of her following in our footsteps. >> cautious or protective? >> a little bit of both. >> did you get scared seeing her knocking around out there? >> actually, i do the knocking around sometimes, but i do it out of love. >> love for the sport and siblings is why mark is here. after failing to qualify, mark is a team alternate and trainer in these olympics, proving family ties run deep. >> we look at these experiences as family vacations and experiences that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. and i'm using my energy now to help them win an olympic gold medal and have their dreams come true. >> the lopez siblings credit their parents for inspiring them. >> there is such a thing as sibling rivalry. i wonder if it works in this case. are you at some level competing as brothers and sisters? >> oh, yeah. >> i think it's more of a sibling rivalry.

we have a lot of respect for each other and reverence for each other. >> respect for each other in a sport where discipline makes all the difference on the mat and off. how in a sport like this, i mean, how long can the four of you stay together? >> that's a good question. i mean, it's tough enough for one person to make the olympic team one time. that in itself is a feat. >> we have the collective approach that if one wins, we all win. >> the lopezes will be fighting for gold, hoping to walk into the history books once again, this time in london. a truly delightful family. we certainly wish them a lot of luck. tae kwon do competition begins on wednesday. we've got a lot more as we continue today from olympic park in london, including the real gold medal winners of these games, london's cabbies, navigating all that traffic. that story's coming up right after this. [ alicia ] i snack all the time throughout the day. i love fruit. grapefruits, pineapple.

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♪ welcome back to london's olympic park. a gorgeous saturday here in london. if these games have unsung heroes, it could be the city's fleet of taxi drivers, who manage to navigate london's maze of meandering streets and traffic circles with a plum. as i found out, it's a highly reliable transportation. it's also a rolling education. ♪ they are as iconic as the double-decker buses and big ben, london's black taxis. >> if it's in london, i'll find it. >> and their drivers are as distinctive as the cabs

themselves, because before they get behind the wheel -- >> how would you get me from gibson square to thornhill square? -- they start in the classroom, the start of a four-year grueling journey to become a london taxi. >> i don't want to see any maps. from the station to the square -- >> reporter: derek o'reilly teaches what taxi veterans called the london knowledge. >> they've got to learn 50,000 streets and roads and probably about another 40,000 places of interest like hotels, restaurants, theaters, embassies, hospitals, police stations. >> and they'll have to learn and practice hundreds of routes on motorbikes. the pass rate for students is low, and 70% drop out. >> you wake up in the middle of the night and you're calling over a run from one of the books or you're looking at can i get a left turn or a right? it's constantly on your mind, even in your free time. you don't really have free time because you're always thinking about it.

>> by the time they're picking up hailing passengers on the street -- >> where to? >> -- a london cabbie knows the quickest way between point "a" -- >> how about piccadilly circus? >> and point "b." and there is rarely a direct route in london. >> there is a collection of villages that over the years have come together to form a city, so there is no grid pattern, which is a shamble of streets. >> so, the notion of getting, you know, as the crow flies, the crow really can't fly here, can he? >> absolutely not, no. ♪ >> with map in hand, i couldn't resist testing his knowledge with some obscure spots. if i said go to tedworth square, what streets surround that? >> tedworth square has got tight streets, christ church street and you know the famous resident just off of tedworth square? >> no, i wouldn't know. >> oscar wilde. >> wow. okay. scarsdale villas. >> yep. >> and at what square? >> well, scarsdale villas, across from it is pembrook

square, and it runs from marlos road. ♪ >> the london knowledge has rightfully earned london cabbies the reputation of being among the best in the world. >> you get into a london cab and you don't need to worry about where they're taking you. >> bye-bye. >> a point of beaming pride for these unofficial ambassadors to london. >> we know everywhere, or we should do, and expect perfect english, even if it's in company. >> and you know, they're comfortable taxis, too. >> yeah. >> because they're roomy, they've get got a little jump seat in the back and they've got an intercom. >> what's that for? >> well, you can talk to the driver and they can also listen to you. i've heard about amorous couples in the back and it gets -- okay, i should stop with next on "today." what is next on "today"? >> coming up, oh, you're avoiding it, because we will

have a showdown, which badminton, badminton, i don't know, but we're going to play it. what team are you on? >> americans! >> come on, good answer. this is "today" on nbc. [ harry umlaut ] that's one creamy muller. [ sally umlaut ] it's greek-style yogurt. thick, scrumptious, and more protein than those regular yogurts. are those almonds i see in the corner thingy? caramelized almonds i think you'll find. well, who wants ordinary run-of-the-mill almonds

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♪ welcome back to london. and badminton has certainly made headlines in these games, lester, in the wake of those eight players thrown out for allegedly trying to lose on purpose, but it is absolutely a fun game for the entire family, and we don't lose easily. >> no, i'm going to lose out on purpose. i'm going to lose. we wanted to give it a try. medal-winning swimmers katie ledecky, cullen jones and elizabeth beisel stuck around to help us out. you know all about this because you're olympian. >> can you play the game? >> absolutely, it all crosses over. >> what's -- >> okay, i'm going to be the ref.

>> all right. >> all righty. >> okay, well, not really, but you're setting me up here. okay, i'll stick my -- >> so, who has the thing? >> the bird? cullen has it. >> this is an extra, in case i hit it too hard. >> okay. >> ready? >> ready, let's go. >> he's winding up. one -- well. >> whoa. >> does it count if it goes under? >> it does. >> it crosses the line. >> so, team tamron scores one. >> no, it went under. >> but the goal is to go over, lester. >> oh. >> here, katie, you get the honors. >> no, no. >> okay. come on. >> oh. >> overhead. >> come on, one more time. >> almost. >> are you sure you're an olympian, katie? [ laughter ] >> you got it, you got it. >> i'm talking trash. all right, come on, let's get some energy going here. all right, here we go. >> nothing but net!

>> team tamron 2, team lester nothing. >> okay, okay. >> no, no, it's ours again. >> what? >> you missed it. that's right. all right, come on, katie, katie! >> i'm going to change the rules. >> come back. >> katie! yeah, whoo! >> clearly, this isn't our sport and it's not your sport, either. >> no, it's not. >> you know? but if we fill this plaza with water right now, you three would win out. >> congratulations again. >> thanks. >> thank you.

good morning, everyone. thank you so much for joining us today. >> straight ahead on news 4 today, the 15-year-old phenom. katie ledecky gets the gold. we have reaction. and a preview what's still to come, straight ahead on the track. and a warmup for the redskins today. all about the fans at training camp. we'll take you there live. one of 20,000 or 30,000 headed out to redskins fan appreciation day. prepare to be hot and sweaty, all day long. your chances for cooling

showers, coming up. >> all that and more, when you join us for news 4 today. >> back in 90 seconds.

good morning, everyone. welcome to this very early addition of news 4 today on this saturday, august 4, 2012. i'm erika gonzalez. and i'm